Today we get back to basics with a powerful intention setting exercise based on our legendary Four Pillar Framework!

As humans, we have a natural desire to grow and evolve. It starts when we are children and while we may not be as readily aware of it as we reach adulthood, a lot of general dissatisfaction people feel (even though there is apparent “success”) comes from stagnation.

When we accomplish goals or reach a new level in life, we may feel satisfied there for a bit, but then we tend to find ourselves wanting more, even though we have “succeeded.” Not necessarily because we aren’t fulfilled (but that can surely be the case if you are pursuing a path out of alignment with who you are and what you really want!) but because if you stay anywhere for too long it stops feeling great, because our nature is to grow. What was once your height, now becomes your baseline, so you can reach even greater heights!

And so, as Live Your Legend has evolved, so have its core principles. That is why today we want to revisit the backbone of Live Your Legend, the four pillars to The Passionate Work Framework! And because it’s a new year, it’s important that we be intentional about what we want to be, do and have in 2018! Intentions are slightly different than goals in the sense that goals are very specific and once achieved we tend to move on to the next goal. Intentions, on the other hand, are less of a specific target and more of an aim in life. They tend to be deeper and longer lasting ways of living life or running your business. Our team at Live Your Legend put down our collective intentions for 2018 and we invite you to do the same. State your own intentions for 2018 for each of the four pillars of The Passionate Work Framework!

It’s amazing how quickly our lives begin to change when we become intentional and we make our intentions public, so be sure to leave your intentions in the comments below!

For those of you newer to our family—or those that may need a refresher—here’s a quick recap of the existing Passionate Work Framework.

A decade of research by our fearless founder, Scott Luckey Dinsmore, revealed that these are the required steps to do work that you are passionate about—the process that differentiates those who love the work they do and find it meaningful, from those who dread going to work everyday.

I. Become a Self-Expert: You must know who you are to live a life that is in alignment. Yet, so many of us have unlearned how to dream in order to follow the societal definition of success. So becoming a self expert is an ongoing process about discovering who you are, what you value, setting up your life to be in alignment with that and then constantly measuring and adjusting. Because, as we mentioned above, as you evolve, so will the things you value and want out of life. So maintaining that alignment is about constant self awareness, discovery and re-discovery.

Live Your Legend Team 2018 Intention: Our intention at Live Your Legend is to stay in alignment with our values in everything that we do. Always prioritizing integrity, community and our mission above all. We will lead with love and continue to evolve the business as we evolve as a team.

II. Do Your Impossible: If you have a limited view of how things have to and should be, you are limiting your possibilities of how to get the most out of your life. So doing the impossible is all about breaking through and disproving the beliefs you have that are keeping you playing small. It is about constant testing and experimentation to help you expand your own self-imposed limitations—because when you prove to yourself you can do the things you don’t think you can do, it causes you to not only redefine your beliefs about what’s possible, it also opens you up to a larger number of opportunities in every avenue of life.

Live Your Legend Team 2018 Intention: Our intention at Live Your Legend is to overcome any fears of failure. We plan on launching a certain new project that has scared us, but we know has the potential to make a massive impact. A LOT more to come on that front.

III. Surround Yourself With Passionate People: Doing work you love is not for the faint of heart. Looking deep within to understand who you are, and what you want and why, is some of the hardest work you’ll ever do. And testing, experimenting and doing things differently than “norm” can cause others to feel uncomfortable and therefore tell you that you are crazy or stupid for thinking differently. So surrounding yourself with people who support instead of discourage your dreams is required to maintain momentum on your journey of doing passionate work.

Live Your Legend Team 2018 Intention: Our intention at Live Your Legend is to seek out and learn from mission driven individuals, businesses and organizations that inspire us because they are changing the world by doing something that matters to them and to the world.

Pillar 4 of The Passionate Work Framework

And that brings us to today because as we have helped tens of thousands of people discover and do more meaningful work, we’ve seen that a crucial piece to continue Living Your Legend is to not only do what matters to you, but to do more, be more, and contribute and give more to others—because that is when you really start to feel alive.

Pillar 4 is what ties it all together. Living Your Legend means doing work that is meaningful to you, work that you love. When we are doing work that is meaningful to us, it’s meaningful to others and it changes the world. By definition, doing meaningful work means that we are doing something that matters. So, today we emphasize the fourth pillar of The Passionate Work Framework…

IV: Do Something That Matters: Lead, Serve, Give: This is the step that takes passionate work and turns it into meaningful work. Because we are innately built to do more for others than we ever would for ourselves. And to spend your time doing things you are passionate about is, no doubt, an amazing accomplishment… but to use your passions, talents and strengths to lead, serve and give to others creates a deep level of meaning around what you do—and that is not only a gift that keeps on giving, but in our opinion it is also the key to a fulfilling and purposeful life.

If you are taking a job because of a title or to get X amount of money so you can start living later, it will only get you so far. If you are starting an online business because you want a more flexible lifestyle, you might get it up and running but it will not be lasting.

And of course, you have a right to that title, that amount of money and that lifestyle if that is what you have determined success to be. But if that is your only reason, if it is only about you and what you will gain, you’ll likely only get so far…

Because there is no doubt that sh*t will get hard. You will come up against changes and challenges. And even if you do get “there,” if you are not doing what you are doing for a reason greater than yourself, you’ll only get “there” and start looking for the next “there.” In order to have lasting fulfillment, you have to be doing what you are doing, not only because you love it and it’s meaningful to you, but for a reason greater than yourself.

Many of us conceptually understand the idea that giving makes us feel good, but this deeper understanding of why giving is the key to lasting fulfillment, which I learned from Neale Donald Walsch, really helped me understand a greater why:

When you give something away, you will no longer be “wanting” it, you will immediately experience having it—because the very act of your giving something away causes you to experience that you have it to give away, since you cannot give to another something you do not now have.

Giving while expecting absolutely nothing in return, often times ends up being the best reward of all…

Live Your Legend Team 2018 Intention: Our intention at Live Your Legend is to provide a platform to highlight and spread the word about mission driven individuals, businesses and organizations because if they inspire us to make the world a better place, we know they will inspire you too!

What are your four intentions for the year? The intentions that would make 2018 a success to you?!

Write them down, put them on paper and make magic happen!

Thank you for being the legends that you are. You guys give a gift to me, and each other, by being a part of this community. And I look forward to all the many ways that we will continue to collectively give our gifts back to the world!

Onward and upward,

–Chelsea Dinsmore and the Live Your Legend Team

P.S. The most powerful exercise we can do is to make our intentions public. Let the world know in the comment section below what your top intention is. Or better yet, all 4 of your intentions! Inspiration breeds inspiration, after all…